The Forbidden Room
Description
Guy Maddin fans know that this Manitoban is not just a filmmaker; he is also a religion. His latest, The Forbidden Room, is hilariously hyperactive and a relentless, mind-melting epic voyage. Submariners coping with dropping oxygen levels are baffled when a new passenger, a lost woodsman, suddenly appears aboard the doomed vessel. From that puzzling beginning erupts a riot of two-strip Technicolor and “lost” film fragments. The myriad subplots will leave viewers shocked one moment, baffled the next, laughing hysterically and then profoundly moved. In collaboration with co-director Evan Johnson, Maddin blends hallucinatory camerawork, florid production design and quicksilver editing to immerse actors and audience into an entirely “other” world. Psychotically designed into three acts, a methodical madness slowly reveals itself for those who dare to wander into this truly alternative experience. With a jaw-dropping cast that includes Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Mathieu Amalric, Geraldine Chaplin and Maddin’s longtime muse Louis Negin, The Forbidden Room is a genuine cinematic treasure trove, a nostalgic throwback to 1920s Expressionist Silent cinema married to a 1960s underground “camp” aesthetic. —Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
Guy Maddin (left) first emerged from the depths of Winnipeg in the latter part of the 1980s with a trio of offbeat cult classics: Tales from the Gimli Hospital (SFIFF 1989), Archangel (1989) and Careful (SFIFF 1993). While disappearing from features for almost a decade, completing only Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1997), he continued working on close to 50 short films that include his evocation of Soviet-era montage The Heart of the World (SFIFF 2001 Film & Video Short Narrative Golden Gate Award). The 2006 SFIFF POV award winner returned to feature filmmaking with an amazing onslaught of work: Dracula, Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (SFIFF 2003), Cowards Bend the Knee (2003), The Saddest Music in the World (SFIFF 2004), Brand Upon the Brain! (SFIFF 2007) and My Winnipeg (SFIFF 2008). His most recent film Keyhole (2011) premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.
A one-time student of Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson (right) first worked with the director when he served as additional camera operator on My Winnipeg. The Forbidden Room marks Johnson’s feature-directing debut. In addition to co-writing and co-directing the film, he also served as its visual effects supervisor and assistant editor.
Trailer
//player.vimeo.com/video/124869245?autoplay=1Film Details
LanguageEnglish
Year2015
Runtime131
CountryCanada
DirectorGuy Maddin, Evan Johnson
ProducerDavid Christensen, Phoebe Greenberg, Phyllis Laing, Guy Maddin, Penny Mancuso
WriterGuy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk
EditorJohn Gurdebeke
CinematographerStephanie Weber Biron, Benjamin Kasulke
MusicGalen Johnson, Guy Maddin, Jason Staczek
CastRoy Dupuis, Geraldine Chaplin, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Louis Negin, Karine Vanasse